what brought me here!

This
blog has waited for nine years to come into being. The two reasons why
it had to wait this long are 1) my personal awkwardness at writing about
a lifestyle and value set that I myself was unable to follow with total
commitment, and 2) a series of obstacles and hindrances that took up
all my time and energy for the last six years, almost all of it arising
out of my indulgence in a lifestyle of over-consumption.In
the last one year, I have been fortunate to see several breakthroughs
on several fronts, and this has given me the impetus to start this now.
Some of them are...1.
Being arrested and jailed on fabricated criminal charges.
Unfortunately, this was before being jailed acquired the growing
respectability with minister and CEO's of corporate houses being housed
there, and then the leaders of the civil society movement against
corruption.2.
Being repeatedly confronted by corruption in the law enforcement and
legal system. I had to stumble through, repeatedly forced to compromise
on my beliefs and values, just in order to get the system to do what it
is there to do in the first place. Even choosing to withdraw from
seeking legal redress involved a process that was humiliating and
frustrating.3.
Choosing to make a complete break with my past, and start not afresh,
but with a negative financial balance in my mid-forties, rather than
seek justice through the legal system. This was my first independent
step towards simplicity.4. Being able to quit my job in order to be free to respond to life.5.
Being supported in every way, emotionally, materially, socially and
financially, by my family and friends to take the decision to answer a
higher calling.6. Understanding the true meaning of loss at all levels.7.
Seeing and understanding the underlying reasons for the groundswell of
discontentment at the system that we ourselves have created following
the anti-corruption movement in India.

I have been attempting to live a simpler life for more than one decade, but have not had great success, since the life of over-consumption is so tempting and the reinforcement of the pleasure it promises is so great. It was not till recently that I have been able to invite minimalistic and frugal thinking into my life, and much of it out of lack of choice. With the legal expenses and the cost of settling the criminal case against me, I was left with no choice but to borrow a large amount of money. In addition to this, my disaffection with the way I was spending my time and energy was growing, as was my reluctance to contribute to the corporate entity I was part of.

I looked at the crazy mess that my life was and the list of things that I was quickly running out of "somedays" for, and all that had led up to the present crisis, and realized that it was time for a few difficult decisions. I broke from my past, got a divorce, opted for an out of court settlement for the criminal charges against me, and quit my job. Here I was, neck deep in debt, no earnings, no plans, nothing but an ardent desire to do something more meaningful with my life.

This blog is my attempt to document my journey subsequent to these decisions. I trust that this attempt will result in generating value for all who come across it.